Radioactive
by Crez451
Summary: In the aftermath of a nuclear apocalypse, the border between friend and enemy becomes increasingly blurred during the investigation to find the identities of the bombers, and a brand new Kira emerges with a dangerous plan. Light struggles to prove his innocence in a game with constantly changing rules, and L is too knowledgeable about everything happening to be entirely innocent.


**Only important thing you need to know is that this is set after the Yotsuba arc. Writing this, I imagine the remains of Japan to look a little bit like any of the major cities in Fallout 3.**

**Radioactive **

23rd November, 2003.

The dawn of morning was discolored by an eerie fog of corrosive chemicals and ash – for the restricted extent of Light's vision, slightly strengthened by his position atop the fifth floor of L's tarnished skyscraper, the city appeared as a rotting mess of debris, corroding metal and ash. Although his radiation suit shielded him from the majority of the harmful airborne products, the pungent smell of gas, destruction and other unidentifiable sources seeped in and clogged the air around his face, making his chest heave and breathing strain. Sayu stood with him, tears streaking down her face as she over-looked the solemn remainder of the city.

"Who do you think did this?" Sayu eventually inquired, as the rising sun formed an uncanny sheen across the thick spread of orange in the air. The radiation suit looked entirely too big on her, Light thought.

"Sayu..."

She sniffed, and Light thought she would break down into tears once more, but she made no further noise. They hadn't been outside for long, but Light was aware that every passing moment forced them closer to the time when returning to the bunker was crucial. For once since their initial meeting, Light was grateful of L's paranoia, though he had the distinct feeling that L had a deeper knowledge of the incident than he claimed. He was well-aware of L's status internationally, and knew such a fact could not be hidden from the detective for any short period of time, let alone the amount of time needed to execute the attack. He couldn't even say that L personally had nothing to do with it for certain – since it had occurred, L has seemed naught but delighted at Light's reactions.

"We should go back before your anyone gets mad at us for being out here for so long." Sayu commented. It was evident that Sayu was, as she had been for the past two months, considering the lives lost in the strike against their city; her peers, her friends, her neighbours, and teachers, and boyfriend, who had all perished. Light shuffled from his place, breaking the silence, and motioned for Sayu to move from her place.

The trek back to the bunker was a borderline difficult one due to the extensive damage of the building; it had fared a hell of a lot better than the all of other buildings for as far as the eye could see, but Light couldn't decide how it remained upright. The interior was a mass of broken metal, glass and the remnants of decorations; the structure had mostly collapsed in on itself, leaving very little room for movement, and there was the ever looming threat of collapse. They hadn't been given permission to wander any further than the first floor, which was in surprisingly good condition in comparison to the surrounding area, but the view from the first floor was too limited to deduce the state of the city from. The electricity no longer worked, and the stairs, though blocked by rubble, were safe to use.

"Everyone we know is probably dead." Sayu commented as she climbed over a pile of tiles.

"Yeah." Light replied.

"We'll never even be able to bury them." She continued, increasing her pace as a small section of cleared area came up. Light had cleared the area, and worked his way across the towering rubble that cluttered the exit of the stairs.

"Hopefully. I wouldn't want to go back out there in case there's another strike, and I doubt we'd last long before the radiation got to us."

"Do you think it hurt?" She asked. Light stopped and turned to her, having known the conversation was bound to occur, and already having prepared an answer.

"Sayu, try not to think about the past and the "what if" factors. We can sit here and speculate about how they died, but we'll never have an answer and it'll only cause us grief. From the state of the city, it looks like everyone died instantaneously, and those who didn't would be dead by now." Light said. Then, as an afterthought, he added: "I know it's hard, but you can't let this event define you."

"It's just horrible. I don't know who would want to do such an awful thing."

Light silently agreed, and resumed his trek through the build-up of rubble covering the exit of the stairs – there was only a small gap between the bottom of the roof and top of the rubble – that covered the entrance to the first floor. Sayu followed in silence, though Light could guess her eyes had began to water up once more. She'd spent the past few days crying, and would no doubt spend the coming days crying.

Suddenly, there was the overbearing sound of electrical static in the air as the technology came to life; Light, startled by its sudden appearance, tripped over the heap of what used to be floor he was crossing, and Sayu jumped in fright. The static decreased in sound, evened out, until it became suddenly clear. Light could foresee what was about to occur, and readied himself for the lecture that was about to begin from his father about the dangers of wandering off.

"Light," said L's monotonous, yet polite, voice, "please hurry up and return to the bunker before I have to sedate your father."

The unhurried, solemn pace they had been traveling at was instantly replaced but a much faster one, where their destination in mind was evident, and the risks associated with not reaching that destination in good time would be severe. Light was unsure of the reasons as to why L had hurried them back - although they had ventured much further than their previous outings, they hadn't been in the open world for very long, and Light was sure L's primary concern was not easing the worries of his father.

When they arrived at the bunker door, hidden at the far end of the car park, the outer door was waiting opened for them. Sayu went in first, with Light glancing around at the rows of empty spaces, and the smashed car against the far wall, to let himself catch his breath. When he did enter the anteroom leading to the bunker, he slammed the first door shut after him. To get to the bunker, there were eight doors and four flights of stairs before one would reach the actual bunker, which wasquite spacious in size. He didn't take the radiation suit off until he reached the fourth level where there was a storage in which the suits were kept, as well as medical equipment in case of injury. L was waiting for him on the fifth floor, with his unusually large eyes facing upwards to the unblemished roof. Sayu hurried past L, still unsure of his eccentric character and distrusting of his intentions. When she was out of hearing range, passing through the passages that led to the bunker, L pulled out a sheet of paper.

"It's interesting, Light, that, as you were out of sight of the task force and the surveillance, eighteen people died of heart attacks." He stated, with-holding the sheet of paper from Light.

"Criminals?"

"Depends on your view. Unfortunately, I'm going to need to search your person for the Death Note and forbid you from any future trips out of my sight." He replied, and Light scowled at him. L hadn't said anything about the state of the rest of the world, due to ignorance or a lack of interest, but he implied that the entire world had not been targeted in the attack. It occurred to Light that this was the first instance that L offered him any information in relation to what had actually happened and, to regain at least a small measure of the control he once had, he pounced at the opportunity.

"I'm going to assume this state of destruction is local only to Japan, and not the entire world." Light commented.

"You're correct in your assumption. Only the most densely populated areas of Japan were targeted in the attack."

"Why Japan?" Light asked. Of course, there were many possibilities that had crossed his mind as L spoke, mostly centered around the role of Japan in the global economy, and Kira's supposed existence within Japan. L didn't answer, however, but gazed for a long period of time at Light's face.

"I'm not going to answer that," he eventually said to Light's scowl, "but I will say that the attack was not caused by any nation or government. Now, back to the previous subject, I do find it hard to comprehend how you would become aware of these people but, given their position, it's not completely out of the question."

"That's not a very strong argument, L. I don't know who you're talking about or what they did, and you even stated that their stratus as 'criminal' was dependable."

"I do not doubt they would appear even remotely innocent to you. There are two options in this instant; you know exactly what I'm talking about, which will conclude in your guilt as Kira, or you have no idea of what I'm talking about, which means there's another Death Note in the world. It doesn't change how much I suspect you of being Kira, however." L said.

"And you're telling me to deduce whether or not I'm guilty based on my reaction to your claims." Light guessed.

"Correct, and I also want to state that we'll be working together on another matter if your innocence does happen to come to light. If you didn't cause these murders, then there's another Kira in the world killing people based upon their twisted definition of 'justice', and will have to be caught, Furthermore, providing your innocence, there is the matter of the bombing that must be attended to..." L trailed off, and Light knew what he was proposing. It occurred to Light that L's usual directness in his questioning hadn't been present for some time, and he assumed it was because Light's crimes didn't weight as heavily as the ones committed against Japan. L was giving him the chance to give evidence to suggest his innocence, rather than prove it, until the matter was solved.

"I'd say I was innocent but I know you won't believe me. From the confidence which you announce that it wasn't a government or a nation suggests that you know more about the attack than you're willing to say."

L stared at him for a moment, a smirk playing on his face, and Light stared back with equal confidence.

"You're correct," he said.

"But you're not going to tell me." Light finished, and L briefly nodded. Then, as an afterthought, Light asked: "are you going to tell the others that you suspect me of being Kira?"

"No. The bunker is big enough for them to be segregated from our work space; all the files have been transferred to the new computers and a network has been established. We can continue with the initial Kira investigation when we return." L, suddenly, sprung into action dragging Light by the arm towards the bunker. Although Light had become used to L's eccentricities, the sudden movement and invasion of his personal space shocked him, and resulted in L having to pull him for more than necessary.

"I know how to walk down some stairs." Light complained, yanking his arm against the strange grip of the detective.

"I don't doubt it." L condescendingly replied, and let his strange grasp of Light's arm go.

An hour after their return to the bunker, and L had searched Light, in vain, for a trace of the notebook, and had reinstated the use of the chain. They sat together, in the presence of the remainder of the task force, in what had been deemed the "office" of the building. As soon as the electricity had returned, the room had began to glow with the familiar bluish tint of computers starting up. At that moment, L idly sat loudly sipping a cup of Earl Grey that Watari had prepared, while Light fidgeted with the cuff enclosing his wrist.

"I have an announcement." L said after a short moment, putting the cup on the desk beside the coaster. Light, by force of habit, moved the cup onto the coaster.

"There are two options that I would like you all to consider, with the exception of Light, of course," he continued, and Light watched as his father scowled at the pale man, "two cases, actually."

"As you're aware, there has been an attack by an unknown group against the Japanese nation and, although you do not know the extent of the damage, I can confirm that the death toll is in the high millions. As you are also aware, Kira remains a threat to society and, with the bombing, there seems to have been the formation of a new Kira. I cannot say for certain that this Kira is not the original Kira, although it seems unlikely, nor can I say that the bombing and the emergence of a new Kira does not coincide, which brings me to my announcement: I am taking both the cases, and I ask you to decide which case you would preferably work on." L said. Matsuda led the barrage of protests with complaints that it wasn't fair to make someone choose, then attempting to negotiate by stating it would be possible to work on both at the same time.

"You're making us choose between our duty to our nation and our duty as the Kira investigation task force?" The senior Yagami questioned. L nodded, and Light could see the anger on his father's face increase with L's calmness.

"The safer option would be to investigate the attack against Japan, which would also be easier than searching the world for shadows. That way, you can also help reinstall faith in L's ability as a detective to the world, and potentially scare off the new Kira." Light said, hoping to break the growing tension between the task force and L. L swiveled in his chair until he was staring directly at Light.

"Of course Light would draw the focus of the investigation away from himself so he would have more time to plan and less attention from those actually trying to catch him. Continuing with the Kira investigation may prove Light's innocence, assuming the murders of the original Kira continue while I watch him. If he's proven to be innocent, Light would have the time and resources to partake in the investigation into the bombings with us." L countered. Matsuda stared between the two with trepidation, though Light was sure that his loyal nature to his country and his peers would cause him to want the best for Light, and therefore follow Light's suggestion.

"I've been down here with no access to internet, television or any other forms of media for days, and you admitted to not having found anything suspicious on me. I can't possibly have killed those people. If that's not enough, I would be dead due to the 13-day rule!"

L looked thoughtful for a moment, and twirled his spoon between his fingers. The room was tense with the looming threat of another physical brawl between the two – things had become increasingly tense within the atmosphere in the bunker as L turned his powerful mind towards his mind games with Light.

"Assuming that all the rules are real." L said at last.

"There's no reason for them not to be."

"I can think of many reasons. A bored shinigami would stoop to such an act to frighten people into continuously writing names, providing entertainment for that shinigami. If the rule is a fake, it may be confined to the Death Note that we own, and thus the rule will be disproved if the new Kira fails to conform to the 13-day rule." L replied.

"So if we wait 13 days and Light doesn't die, then he can't possibly be Kira, right?" Matsuda injected, and the focus of the group shifted from L and Light to Matsuda, who flushed in embarrassment from the attention.

"Did you listen to a word that was said, Matsuda?" L questioned.

"But if Light's with you the entire time and doesn't die, it means he's not Kira because you were watching him and he would be dead if he was." Matsuda stated.

"No, it just suggests that the 13-day rule is a fake, or that there are loopholes that haven't been included within the instructions."

"We've already established that L won't be happy until I'm Kira." Light pointed out. Matsuda went silent.

"Can't Light choose which case he would prefer to work on like the rest of us?" Yagami asked. L took another sip of his tea, then returned it to its place next to the coaster.

"Of course not. I asked Light to join the Kira investigation because he would be a useful addition, but mostly to keep an eye on him. I personally feel that Light's talents are better suited to the Kira case, as opposed to the attack on Japan." L calmly replied. "I'll contact you through email about the details of the case, and you'll report to Watari for the majority of your time, if you choose to work that case. You can have until tomorrow to make you decision."

The dismissal was evident and, one-by-one, the men of the task force excused themselves from the room. L had become silent once more, twirling the spoon in the cooling cup of tea and staring blankly at the generic screen-saver.

"They're going to split the team in two. It'll help justify their neglect of the other case, and put their mind at ease." Light stated.

"I know." L replied, and a thought occurred to Light.

"Your real reason of refusing to let me choose the case is because you want to take the bomber case, but you don't want to feel like you've given up on Kira. Having me on the case is as close as having yourself on the case, and you need someone to put all their intellectual capability into the one project in case information gets overlooked." Light said.

"Actually, I need an heir and this is the perfect opportunity. I'll be with you every moment, and you'll have to report everything you do to me, but consider this case your own until the other one is solved." He admitted, and Light could tell that there was an accusation to the challenge; L's suspicion of Light was evident, and the case would act as another stage in the constantly their constantly growing mind game.

**Any questions, confusion or concerns, just send a message. I might go back and edit this at a later time, mostly because I'm really tired at the moment and it's almost 3 am, but also because it's the first day of a new year. Happy new year, dear readers ~ Crez. **


End file.
